


Old Friends

by liquidnitrogen



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Angst, Exes, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, im not really sure, im sorry, no happy ending, some Comfort maybe?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:28:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28420965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liquidnitrogen/pseuds/liquidnitrogen
Summary: Troy and Abed meet up after three months of being broken up. Based on the song Old Friends by Mitski.
Relationships: Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11





	Old Friends

**Author's Note:**

> hey so um it's been a while right haha but lets not focus on that right now. i'm not sure if the community fandom on here is alive but if not that sucks i guess.... i hope you enjoy this though it's kinda sad idk.
> 
> (title also from Old Friends by Mitski lol)

Abed nervously tapped his fingers on the worn, plastic surface in front of him and occasionally glanced out the window. On the center of the table stood two cups of coffee, both untouched and seemingly growing colder by the minute as the clock on the wall ticked away. He wasn’t sure if Troy would come, to be honest he wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t. He would probably feel a slight tinge of hurt burrow itself into his chest, but that was fine. It wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle by now. 

It had been about three months or so since they broke up and Abed had pretty much adapted himself to being on his own again, despite it seeming impossible during the first couple of days. It all seemed so silly when he looked back at it—the arguments, the pettiness. It just didn’t seem like them. They were _Troy and Abed_ , they had disagreements and they worked them out. They were inseparable, falling out was totally out of the question; or so they thought, at least. More and more fights about nothing started to pile up until the two of them could barely breathe, it was suffocating. Although it wasn’t a sour breakup per se—feelings weren’t hurt, insults weren’t thrown—they had both realized sometime before that this did not work. They weren’t happy like this, and that was all there was to it. They went their separate ways after that. 

It’s not like they didn’t still talk, they did, not like they used to though. It was only the occasional _how are you?_ or a reply to the other person’s story on instagram, maybe even a liked post here and there. Abed felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards slightly as he thought about how they would stay on the couch, tangled in each other’s arms even as the sunlight faded and the sky filled with stars. Sometimes they would go look at those stars, sitting close together under the night sky and wishing for their love to last forever. It was fun to believe in that sort of thing back then, that the universe had a plan for them and all that. For a while it almost seemed like it did. 

Abed let his eyes wander to the clock again, 3:16 PM, it said. He’d sent the text to Troy last night, asking if he wanted to catch up, Abed was in town after all. No longer than five minutes after he’d sent it, he saw the little _delivered_ turn into _read_. There was no response though. Hours went and still, nothing. He wanted to see Troy. After much consideration he hit send on another text. _I’m going to be at the Blue Diner between 3-4pm, feel free to join_. Read, but no reply. 

He was hoping he would come. Tomorrow was his last day, then he would go back home and lord knew when he would return to this place again. Abed didn’t exactly make a habit of visiting Troy’s—and his, he bitterly reminded himself—hometown. There were a few too many memories attached to this town and no matter how much he told himself he was over Troy, he couldn’t make himself stay. When given the opportunity for a job in LA, he simply accepted it and didn’t look back.

A ringing sound coming from the little bell above the door was enough to pull Abed from his thoughts. There weren’t exactly a lot of people that came to this place—especially at this hour—so any little noise had Abed staring at the door, hoping maybe Troy would walk through it. Two times he had been let down; the first one was a woman and her child, coming to collect a takeaway meal. The second time it was two teens, ordering a large milkshake that they then sat down to share. The romanticism of it all nearly made Abed sick. 

This time however, he froze. His eyes did not deceive him, it was Troy who had walked through that door. He looked different now, his hair was longer and there was a beard decorating his face. He spotted Abed and gave him a small wave as he walked over to the booth. 

“Hey,” he said, sounding so gentle. Abed mentally kicked himself. He was over him, he was. 

“Hi,” Abed answered and his voice came out quieter than he would have liked it to, “I got coffee, it’s probably a bit cold though.”

Troy picked up the cup and took a sip, immediately making a face at the temperature, “sorry, I didn’t mean to make you wait.”

“It’s fine. How are you?” He didn’t really feel like addressing the fact Troy hadn’t even said he was coming, or the fact that he himself had been stupid enough to order the coffee before he knew that he was. 

“I’m alright, work’s good,” Troy gave him a slight smile, “You live in LA these days, don’t you? What’s that like?”

“It’s pretty cool,” _I barely know anyone_ “got a job offer at this tv show,” _I had to get away from this town_ “I’m the PA, production assistant.”

“Hey, that’s great, Abed!” Troy let his smile grow bigger and it felt like a stab in his heart. He wasn’t over him. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty exciting,” he said blankly. Troy was happy for him. Troy was _happy_ , it was obvious. He was smiling, his whole demeanor had a glow of _I’ve moved on and I’m doing good_ , which, of course he was. It wasn’t that hard to be doing better than they were back then. It was truly exhausting, always being at each other’s throats as they were. 

So why, then, was he feeling like complete garbage right now? Why did he miss Troy? They tried it, and it clearly didn’t work. He knew he couldn’t put himself through that again. They could be friends again? No, that wouldn’t work. There was too much history, both painful and sweet. But seeing Troy like this, like he was himself again, it brought back that sad, nostalgic feeling. Something he had, long gone. He had been too careless, he let that slip away. Troy was happy, why couldn’t he be? 

“Are you…” _Don’t say it_ “seeing anyone?” Abed wanted to curse himself for speaking. Why would he ask that? He didn’t want to know that. 

Suddenly Troy’s cheery demeanor seemed to shrivel. His eyes fell to the table. “I uh,” he scratched his nose, “yeah. I am.” 

Just like that Abed felt his heart sink, dropping several miles down and shattering as it hit the ground. Realistically, he did not want to get back together with Troy. He was aware of the risks. Emotionally, he felt as though his world had been turned upside down. Troy was happy and it was because of someone _else_. Abed used to be the only one who could cheer him up. It used to be him who would make him laugh and watch movies with him. They had a handshake, they basically had a whole freaking language. Everything they shared was just something for them. It tore at him, knowing that someone else got to experience that. He should have done it right. He should have fought for them. It was supposed to be them forever, the stars had said so. 

“That’s… That’s great. I’m happy for you,” he lied, forcing a smile.

“Thanks. I guess I should have told you, I just—it felt weird, I didn’t know how to bring it up.” Troy mumbled. He didn’t ask Abed whether he was dating or not. Though clearly he didn’t have to

“No I’m… I’m sorry, it was weird to ask,” Abed looked down at his coffee and considered taking a sip, desperately looking for an excuse to not be talking right now, but ultimately he decided against it. The two spent a few minutes in silence after that, not really knowing where to go from there. 

Sensing that the conversation was pretty much doomed at this point, Troy spoke up, “so, I should probably…” He trailed off and pointed vaguely towards the door. 

“Right. ‘Course,” Abed nodded. 

“It was great seeing you,” Troy offered. He was probably trying to be reassuring, though Abed could only focus on his voice, saying his name once again. 

“Yeah.” 

“You should let me know next time you’re in town.”

“Okay.” 

Troy got up from the booth and reached out a hand to touch Abed’s shoulder, “take care, buddy.” 

He barely had time to reply or even register what had just happened before Troy was at the door, sending him a small smile and walking out of the diner.

 _You too. Please be happy for me_ , he thought.


End file.
